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St. Gregory
St. Gregory (French: Saint-Grégoire), officially the Commonwealth of Saint Gregory, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Hispaniola and due north of Puerto Rico. Its closest point to the mainland United States is Turtle Point, located approximately 850 miles (1,370 km) east-southeast of Miami, Florida. St. Gregory is an archipelago which includes the eponymous mainland, as well as a number of outlying islands, of which only one – Maidstone Island – is permanently inhabited. The capital is Warner Bay, located in the north, while Bonneville in the south-west is the most populous city. The territory's total population was 3,953,451 as of the 2010 census. Inhabitants of St. Gregory are called Gregorians. Formerly a British overseas territory, St. Gregory was sold to the United States and became a U.S. territory in 1984. U.S. citizenship was granted to all Gregorians on July 4, 1985. St. Gregory's current and future political status has been a point of contention before and since its acquisition by the United States. Gregorians have been United States citizens since 1985, and can move freely between the territory and the mainland; likewise, other U.S. citizens are able to travel and move freely to St. Gregory. As it is not a state, however, St. Gregory does not have U.S. senators nor a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction. Despite being U.S. citizens, Gregorians are disenfranchised at the national level and do not participate in voting for the president or vice president of the United States, and not all Gregorian residents pay federal income tax. Congress approved an amended local constitution in 1984, adopting a new method of government whereby the people elect a governor every four years. Etymology St. Gregory is the English translation of San Gregorio is named for Pope Gregory I, also known as Saint Gregory the Great. History :Main article: History of St. Gregory The Taíno people are believed to be the first inhabitants of St. Gregory, who arrived from Hispaniola c. AD 800. Like the nearby Turks and Caicos Islands, the Taíno developed as the Lucayan between 800 and 1200. Explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de León first charted the archipelago in 1493 during his expedition to Hispaniola, naming the island San Gregorio after Pope Gregory I. In 1636, a party led by British explorer Thomas Warner arrived on the east coast of the island with the intention of establishing an island colony. The landing site was named Cape Welles, after the Barons Welles, but was erroneously spelled Cape Wells on the documents establishing the colony. In 1646, French settlers from the ''Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique'''' (English: Company of the American Islands) and led by Jacques Dyel du Parquet arrived on Maidstone Island but deemed the smaller island uninhabitable, and instead continued northward before arriving at the mouth of the Rouge River, where a brief hostile encounter with the native Lucayan people ensued. Legend has it that only one shot was fired during the confrontation, killing one Lucayan native. The river was given its name, ''Rivière Rouge (English: Red River) as a result of the blood spilled from the encounter. The French settlers continued northward before landing at another river mouth on November 14, 1646. With no further loss of life on their expedition, the colony was named Bonne Chance (Good Luck) and would later be known as Bonneville, which today is St. Gregory's largest city. The French signed a treaty with the Lucayans in 1659. St. Gregory became a theater of political tension in the latter part of the 17th century, and well into the 18th century, as the colonies grew simultaneously from the west and south (by the French) and from the east and north (by the British). The land was split roughly 40/60 between French Saint-Gregoire and British Saint Gregory, with the Rouge and Little Rouge Rivers as the border. These tensions came to a head during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), during which the British briefly claimed the territory. At the conclusion of the war, control of the territory west of the Rouge River was ceded back to France. The island remained under contest until 1814, when the Treaty of Paris ended the Napoleonic Wars and handed control of St. Gregory to Great Britain. In 1836, the British Empire abolished the institution of slavery. Former slaves in St. Gregory were required to serve a four-year "apprenticeship" to accustom them to freedom, whereby they worked for their former masters for at least three-quarters of the work week. Full freedom was duly granted in 1838. By that time, the population of St. Gregory had split evenly between people of African and European descent, with those of native descent comprising a minority. St. Gregory joined the short-lived West Indies Federation in 1958 and was a member until 1962 when the federation was dissolved, at which point St. Gregory became a Crown colony. In 1981, the term "Crown colony" was abolished in favor of "British Dependent Territories". By this time, however, the United States had increased their push to acquiring St. Gregory, due to its close proximity to other U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Negotiations between the United Kingdom and the U.S. were interrupted in April 1982 by the Falklands War, but continued in earnest after the war's close in June of that year. On July 6, 1984, the sale of the St. Gregory archipelago was officially ratified and St. Gregory became a U.S. territory. Thomas R. Larrabee was installed as the first Governor of St. Gregory and was officially re-elected for a first full term on November 6, 1984. United States citizenship was granted to all Gregorians on July 4, 1985. Politics and government :Main article: Politics of St. Gregory Gregorians are considered natural-born citizens of the United States. St. Gregory has a territorial Constitution and elects a governor every four years. The gubernatorial elections are held concurrently with the United States presidential elections. Although they are U.S. citizens, and are able to vote in presidential primary elections for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, Gregorians cannot take part in presidential elections. St. Gregory has a District Court, Superior Court and the Supreme Court. The District Court is responsible for federal law, while the Superior Court is responsible for St. Gregory law at the trial level and the Supreme Court is responsible for appeals from the Superior Court for all appeals filed on or after January 29, 2007. Appeals filed prior to that date are heard by the Appellate Division of the District Court. Appeals from the federal District Court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, located in Atlanta, Georgia. District Court judges are appointed by the President, while Superior Court and Supreme Court judges are appointed by the Governor of St. Gregory. Geography :Main article: Geography of St. Gregory 'Administrative divisions' :See also: Provinces of St. Gregory St. Gregory is divided into thirteen administrative territories – twelve provinces plus the Capital City Region, which encompasses the entire capital city of Warner Bay. Demographics Language The official language of St. Gregory is English. However, St. Gregory is unofficially bilingual, with traditional French and French creole both prevalent in the territory. French creole is spoken day to day by a significant portion of the population, particularly in the west and especially by the Afro-Gregorian and Jamagorian communities. A small number of Gregorians also speak Dutch, which is offered as an elective in all St. Gregory schools, along with Spanish. The Gregorian accent varies from one part of the territory to another. Accents typically retain elements passed down from English, French, Dutch, Scottish and Irish settlers, while the influx of mainland Americans since the 1980s has resulted in several American accents becoming more common. Culture :Main article: Culture of St. Gregory Sport :See also: Sport in St. Gregory and Football in St. Gregory Association football (soccer) is the preeminent sport in St. Gregory, brought to the territory by British colonists. The St. Gregory Football Association governs all amateur and professional football in the country. Cricket is also played in St. Gregory, primarily by the Afro-Caribbean population. The National Cricket Ground in the capital, Warner Bay, holds 55,000 people and is the largest sporting facility in St. Gregory. As American influence grew in the 1970s and 80s, American sports like football, baseball and basketball also began growing in popularity. The St. Gregory Baseball League has operated since 1996. Religion :Main article: Religion in St. Gregory Christianity is the leading religion in St. Gregory with a large Roman Catholic contingent along with various Protestant denominations. Like many other Caribbean islands, there is a significant Rastafari presence. A small number of practicing Muslims and Jews can also be found in the territory. Recent surveys show religiosity on a steady decline in St. Gregory, with over one quarter of the population claiming no religious affiliation in the most recent census. Category:St. Gregory